Of Heroes and Thieves
by Thatweirdguyyouknow
Summary: A bandit becomes a reluctant member of a revolutionary army that hopes to create a better world for both Pokemon and humans. Very AU with many OC's. Gardevoir x OC. On hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

**Of Heroes and Thieves.**

**Hi everybody and welcome to my new story It is set in the same world as my first but you don't need to know anything about that story to enjoy this one. Please leave a review constructive criticism is always appreciated.**

**I do not own the Pokémon franchise.**

**Prologue.**

The Gallade ran franticly through the hallways of the castle in search of his emperor. All he could hear was his baby daughter crying in his arms and his sword clanking against his armor. The attack had been swift and well executed. 'The attackers obviously had inside help' the Gallade thought as he neared the panic room where he hoped to find his emperor.

The Gallade pushed open the door to the panic room and was immediately greeted by a horrific sight. The emperor sat in the corner of the room with a hand over the stab wound in his gut. Beside him was his chief guard and trusted friend a Blaziken named Crius, he was trying as best as he could to treat the emperors wound but it was far beyond his ability.

"Fawkes it is good that you are here." The emperor said with a weak and raspy voice as he noticed the Gallade. "I'm glad to see that your daughter is safe as well but where is Anna?"

Fawkes said nothing but the look on his face was enough for both the emperor and Crius to tell that she had died.

"I am truly sorry for your loss my friend." Crius said as he bowed his head.

Fawkes could not bring himself to speak of his wife but he needed to know who was responsible for this slaughter. "What has happened here and who is responsible?" Fawkes asked as his voice quivered with a mixture of rage and sorrow.

"That wretch Cassius organized a coup. His men have been ransacking the castle and I failed to protect the emperor." Crius said as he looked away from his emperor in shame.

The emperor put a hand on the Blaziken's shoulder. "It's not your fault Crius no man could have done better than you." He assured him with a weak smile.

"What do we do now then?" Fawkes asked.

"Both of you know where the escape routes are." The emperor said. "You must go before Cassius's soldiers find you."

"I will not leave you here to die my lord." Said Crius.

"Your loyalty is touching friend but I would only slow you down and I can feel that I am not long for this world." The emperor said.

"I promise you that Cassius will pay for what he has done this day." Fawkes said with unshakeable resolve.

"Vengeance is not what I desire my friend, I only wish for you to finish what we have started." Said the emperor.

"We will see the world you envisioned made a reality my lord this I swear to you." Fawkes said as he bowed to his emperor.

"I only wish I could be there to see it." The emperor said. "Now go quickly before Cassius can stop you."

Fawkes and Crius bowed to their emperor for what they knew would be the last time before they made their way to the nearest escape route.

After running for hours on end Fawkes and Crius had managed to escape the castle and the surrounding city. They had made their way into a nearby forest and were now searching for a good area to set up camp.

"How can we fight a war when it is only the two of us?" Crius asked as they continued to search for a suitable place to rest.

"We can't Crius." Fawkes answered. "We'll have to find others who were loyal to the emperor or anyone else who would wish to see Cassius punished for his crimes."

"This will not be short war will it?" Crius asked somewhat rhetorically.

Fawkes stopped and looked back he could still see the smoke from the fires that Cassius's men had started during their siege. "No it certainly won't be."

**Well that's the end of the prologue. Thank you for taking the time to read it I hope you enjoyed.**

**P.S. Don't worry about the length actual chapters will be much longer. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again and welcome to the first full chapter of the story. Please follow this story if you like it and don't be afraid to leave a review *I would really appreciate it.**

**I do not own the Pokémon franchise.**

**Chapter 1: Not your average hero.**

A prison wagon travels along a dirt path in a forest. The wagon carries numerous criminals some petty others serious. They will all be brought to the city of Winterport where they will be tried for their crimes. Some will serve no more than a week or so in jail others will be condemned to hang for their crimes.

Among the criminals is young man with unkempt dirty blonde hair. He is of average height with wiry muscle. He has several scars on his body and a few on his face but his most interesting qualities are his mismatched eyes his right is deep shade of blue while his left is a vibrant green.

"Hey what's your name kid?" Asked the middle-aged Blaziken sitting across from the man.

"What's it to you old man?" The heterochromatic man replied with a dismissive tone of voice.

"I'm bored and you look like you would make a better conversation partner than these lousy excuses for soldiers." The Blaziken said.

"Shut your mouth you damn bird!" One of the soldiers commanded angrily.

"See what I mean." The Blaziken said as he rolls his eyes at the soldier.

"My names Bishop." Answered the man. "So who are you?"

"Crius." The Blaziken replied. "So what have they got you in here for?" Crius asked as he gestures to wagon.

"Banditry." Bishop said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Figures, you do have the look of a fighter about you." Crius replied.

"And what about you?" Bishop asked. "You don't exactly look like your average pickpocket."

"Ha far from it friend I'm one of the freedom fighters." Crius said with a smile.

"I guess it's the gallows for the both of us then." Bishop commented idly as he looked at the scenery.

"I suppose it is, but you don't sound very distressed about it." Crius said as he raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Not like there's anything I can do to change my situation, so why should I bother worrying over it?" Bishop asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Spoken like a true warrior." Crius said flatly.

"Halt!" The commander ordered. The cart and all of the soldiers guarding it come to standstill.

Bishop looks around to see what has stopped their cart. Not far up the road they are traveling is an upturned wagon. 'Is this an ambush' Bishop thought to himself.

Bishop is quickly distracted from his train of thought as he heard Crius chuckle quietly to himself. "Is something funny?" Bishop asks as he regards the Blaziken beside with a curious look in his unmatched eyes.

"You'll see." Is all Crius said.

The commander got off his seat in the front of the prison wagon and walked closer to the cart on the road. When he was about seven feet away from it he stopped. He took a few minutes to circle it checking to see if it was rigged with some kind of trap.

After a few minutes he determined that there was no threat and was about to order some of the soldiers to move the cart out of the way when the distinctive twang of a bow string being released was heard. Suddenly the commander fell to the ground with an arrow sticking out of his neck. The man grabbed his neck in a pointless attempt to stop the stream of blood flowing from his neck but he soon died.

The remaining soldiers were shocked and terrified from what they had just witnessed and before any of them could truly regain their composure the assault began.

A huge man dressed in bearskins charged in screaming in rage and swinging a massive battle axe. He cut down two of the soldiers with single hack of his axe before knocking a third down with a kick to the chest and finishing him by cleaving his skull nearly in two.

One of seven remaining soldiers drew his sword and was about to run the giant through but was stopped as a Lucario wielding a Jian made a swing at his midsection leaving a terrible wound that brought the man to his knees in pain.

The rest of the soldiers had readied themselves by now and were beginning to advance on the Lucario but two were killed in quick succession by a Gardevoir using a side sword and buckler.

The three warriors now in a defensive position were joined by a dark skinned female archer who had presumably been the one to kill the commander.

The numbers were now even but the soldiers were apprehensive to engage their foes after seeing the slaughter they were capable of.

"If you drop your weapons and surrender we will let you live." The Gardevoir said her voice cold and determined. "But if you continue we will have no choice but to kill you." She added as she glared daggers at the soldiers.

Despite their fear the soldiers stood their ground and soon began advancing.

"Fine it's your funerals." The Lucario said with a smirk as he charged the enemy and began engaging one of the soldiers.

The fight quickly developed into to four one on one duals. Even the archer had switched to using a scimitar she had on her belt.

The Gardevoir used her buckler to deflect her enemy's strikes and parry with small quick cuts weakening the soldier until she could land the final blow.

The man with in the bearskins overwhelmed his opponent with sheer ferocity making huge powerful swings with his battle axe that kept the soldier on the defensive.

The Lucario's attacks were fast and fluid giving the soldier no time to make a counter attack.

The dark skinned woman may have been an archer but she was no slouch with her scimitar either. She used deceptive feints to trick her opponent into altering his guard to block attacks that never came before altering her attack and leaving cuts both large and small on the man's torso.

Before long the soldiers had been defeated. The Gardevoir took the keys off of the commander's corpse and used them to open cage on the back of the prison wagon.

"It's good to see that you are safe Crius." The Gardevoir said without even a hint of the coldness her voice had when she was addressing the soldiers.

"You to Jean." Crius said with a smile.

Jean unlocked and opened the cage on the wagon. The prisoners quickly left to get on with their lives. Bishop would have done the same but Crius put a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you stick around for a bit?" Crius suggested.

"Why the hell should I?" Bishop asked feeling irritated.

"We could use more fighters." Crius said.

Bishop was about to retort but was beaten to the punch by the Jean the Gardevoir.

"Crius what makes you think that this guy would be any help?" She asked.

"He has a fire in his eyes." Crius said. "Besides he used to be a bandit so he must know how to fight."

"So were hiring criminals now are we?" The axe man asked with a thick Nordic accent.

Bishop took the time to study the large man. He was nearly seven feet tall and was as muscular as a body builder. He had long platinum blonde hair and a thick beard of the same colour that coupled and blue eyes. His features marked him as a member of one of the northern mountain tribes who were famed for their incredible strength and courage in battle.

"Many heroes come from sordid back grounds Gunvar." Crius said as he addressed the large mountain tribal.

"And just what in the hell makes you think I want to be some kind of hero?" Bishop asked angrily.

"Well doesn't everybody?" The Lucario interjected with a smirk. He walked over to Bishop and put his hands on his shoulders. "Think about it when we take back the capital we'll be heroes, we'll be written about in the history books, bards 'll write songs about us, and we'll have all the wine an women we could ever desire." He said with a goofy smile.

The archer sighed in frustration at the antics of her Lucario comrade. "The only songs they'll write about you James are the ones about you're endless arrogance." She quipped.

"Oh Samara how you wound me." The Lucario said in mock hurt as he put a hand over his heart.

"Listen kid don't say no right away." Crius said cutting in before James and Samara could continue their conversation. "This could be chance to do something good with whatever fighting skill you may have. You know like redemption."

"Oh don't you even start with that redemption shit." Bishop said angrily. "I only did what I needed to survive."

"Including killing and stealing." Jean said in a judgemental tone.

"Who the hell are you to judge me?" Bishop asked Jean. "You just killed those soldiers and from the looks of it they weren't your first victims either."

"That might be so but I've always fought for something bigger than myself." Jean said as she stared Bishop down.

"Both you calm down." Crius said in a firm but not cruel voice. "Listen Bishop why don't you come and see the rest of our forces at our camp before you make up your mind one way or another."

"Fine I'll come see your camp, you can consider it a courtesy for freeing me." Bishop said as he put his hands as if signaling surrender. "But I can tell you right now that it's a waste of everybody's time."

"Very well then follow me." Crius said as he began to walk.

Jean looked as though she had something to say to Crius but whatever it was she decided to keep it to herself.

**End of chapter 1.**

**Well thanks again for taking the time to read. Reviews would be greatly appreciated and if you like the story please follow it. Thank you and bye until next time.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone and welcome to a new chapter of 'Of Heroes and Thieves'. Please leave a review to tell me what you think.**

**I do not own the Pokémon franchise.**

**Chapter 2: A Higher Calling.**

The small band of humans and Pokémon walked through the dense woods.

Bishop followed them if for no better reason than to possibly get a free meal. He still had no intentions of joining the revolutionaries he saw no profit in it, but he figured that following Crius to their camp may be the easiest way to get him to shut up about it.

The archer known as Samara turned to Bishop. "So you're a Bandit?" She asked rhetorically.

"Yes I'm a Bandit." Bishop responded with irritation. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"No." She answered flatly. "I to once followed a less than noble path."

"Is that right?" Bishop said in an uninterested tone of voice.

"Would it kill you to show some more respect?" Jean asked angrily.

Bishop rolled his eyes. "Fine I'll bite what did you do before you joined this rebellion?" Bishop asked.

"I was a mercenary." Samara said. "I fought for whoever paid well regardless of their morals."

"So what changed?" Asked Bishop.

"I had been hired by our enemy, Lord Cassius to eliminate a rebel encampment." Samara said. "At the time I thought nothing of it, just another job. I set up on a hill near the encampment and began to pick of anyone I could with my bow. After a while they smartened up and took cover so I advanced on their camp. What I saw when I got their horrified me. I wasn't attacking some rebel camp I was attacking a village."

"Why did Cassius pay you to attack a village?" Bishop asked.

"The village hadn't been paying its taxes and Cassius wanted to make an example of it." Samara said as she clenched her fists in rage. "When I saw the bodies of my victims I was disgusted with myself, some of them weren't even adults and I had murdered them."

Jean walked up to samara and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's not your fault friend you were deceived."

"Thank you Jean but ignorance is no excuse for murder." Samara said.

"And the rebels just let you join after that?" Bishop asked.

"Not exactly." Samara said. "After I saw what I had done I was filled with guilt. I left the village and wandered aimlessly. The rebels tracked me down when they heard of what I had done. When they came for me I offered no resistance, I was hoping that they would kill me it would have been no less than what I deserved." Samara said as they continued on their way. "But Fawkes saw that I regretted what I had done so he offered me a chance to make amends, to fight for what's right."

"Fawkes?" Bishop questioned.

"Our leader." Crius said. "You'll meet him soon enough."

The rest of trip was spent in relative silence with little more than chitchat between the rebels.

It was nearing sundown when they arrived at the rebels' base. It was a fairly well fortified compound in the forest with several buildings all of which were single story to prevent them from being easily spotted by soldiers.

Jean and Crius continued to escort Bishop towards the strategy room where Bishop assumed he would meet their leader.

The room was completely undecorated and sparsely furnished with nothing more than a circular table surrounded by chairs and some weapon racks holding blades of various designs.

Seated in one of these chairs was a tired looking Gallade with a saber strapped to his waist. He looked up as they entered and smiled briefly when he saw Crius and Jean. "I'm glad to see that our little rescue operation was a success old friend." He said as he stood and walked over to Crius. "And what of you Jean I trust that you were not hurt?" He asked in a caring tone as he turned to her.

"No father I'm fine." Jean said as she hugged the Gallade in front of her.

Bishop wasn't exactly surprised to find that the two were related but seeing them side by side did make him notice something strange about the Gardevoir. While her father was green and white with a red horn and eyes the daughter was blue and white with an orange horn and eyes of the same colour.

Bishop was not familiar with the Ralts evolutionary line so he did not know which color was the norm but he did remember hearing that certain Pokémon were born with a benign mutation that caused them to have a different colour pattern than others of their species.

The Gallade only noticed Bishop after he and his daughter had finished their hug. "And who may you be young man?" He asked politely but suspicion could be seen in his eyes.

"He was a prisoner on the same wagon as me sir, his name is Bishop." Crius answered before Bishop could speak.

"Is that so?" The Gallade mused aloud. "And for what purpose have you come here Bishop?"

"Crius wants me to join your little war party." Bishop said. "I've told him I have no intention of joining but he insisted that I come and see you before I made up my mind."

"Hmm." The Gallade said as he walked back and forth. "And you believe he would be of value to our cause Crius?" He asked as turned to the Blaziken.

"He has the same fire in his eyes that you and I passed in our youth Fawkes." Crius stated.

"Have you seen him fight?" The Gallade who Bishop could only assume was Fawkes asked.

"No but based on what he has told me of himself I must assume that he has at least rudimentary skill." Crius said.

"He was… or maybe still is a bandit." Jean said venomously.

"What the hell gives you the rite to judge me damn it?" Bishop demanded angrily. "I've only done what I needed to in order to survive."

"You stole from and murdered innocent people." Jean replied angrily.

"I stole from merchants who would swindle a blind beggar out of their last copper if they could, and I only hurt people who wouldn't cooperate." Said Bishop.

"Enough!" Fawkes said in a powerful and commanding voice. "You may be a bandit but you're not a sadist, I've seen what truly evil men look like and you're not one." He said. "Do you have a problem with that daughter?" He asked in atone that suggested that his decision was not up for discussion.

"No father." Jean said after a short delay.

"Good." Is all Fawkes said in reply. "So back to the subject at hand, why aren't you interested in joining the rebellion?" Fawkes asked.

"Because I have no stake in your fight." Bishop said as he took a seat and put his feet up on the table.

"We all have a stake in the fight for freedom." Fawkes said as he took the seat opposite to Bishop.

Bishop let out a small snort. "Who's freedom?" Bishop asked mockingly. "Certainly not mine I've lived with more freedom than most could handle."

"And what of the others who live a life of tyranny and oppression?" Fawkes asked.

"What about 'em?" Bishop asked. "Why should I fight for those who are to cowardly to stand up for themselves?"

"That's a very pessimistic way to look at it." Crius chimed in.

"Maybe but it's kept me strong." Bishop said.

Jean looked at Bishop with an odd mix of pity and anger. "Why should we even bother with him?" She asked Fawkes. "He clearly has no intention of joining us and we don't even know how well he can fight."

"Oh I can fight, probably better than you can." Bishop said with a smirk.

"Prove it then." Crius said as he suddenly rushed Bishop with an arming sword that he grabbed from one of the weapon racks.

Bishop quickly shot up from his seated position and kicked one of the chairs into Crius's path making him stumble but not completely fall.

The time it took for Crius to regain his balance was enough for Bishop to arm himself with a longsword from one of the other weapon racks. He would have taken the offensive immediately but by the time he had the longsword Crius was already back on the attack.

Bishop managed to block flurry of blows from the Blaziken before making a riposte that Crius managed to dodge.

The fight went on for a few minutes until bishop successfully landed a hit on Crius's shoulder but for some reason the sword didn't cut.

"Very good." Crius said as he backed away from Bishop.

Bishop put his hand on the Blade of the longsword to test the edge and found that it was completely blunt.

"Don't look so surprised kid." Crius said with a small laugh. "Did you really think I would attack you with a sharpened weapon?" He asked.

"So this was just a test?" Bishop asked.

"Precisely." Fawkes answered. "We test many potential recruits like this so we can get an idea of how much training they'll need." He said. "You're good but a little more training could be helpful."

"I beat him didn't I?" Bishop asked indignantly as he pointed a thumb in Crius's direction.

"The only reason you beat him is because he held back." Jean said. "If Crius gave his all you wouldn't stand a chance."

"Whatever." Bishop said as he dropped the sword on the table. "This doesn't change the fact that I'm still not interested in joining your little revolution."

"Maybe not but I have something to show you that might." Fawkes said as he stood up and moved to the door.

"And what's that." Bishop asked.

"Follow me and you'll see." Fawkes answered as he stepped out of the door.

Against his better judgement Bishop decided to follow the Gallade and after a short walk through the woods he was shown an awful and terrifying scene.

In front of the two warriors was a mass grave filled with the bodies of men, women, and children both Pokémon and human.

Bishop was used to death and violence but the sights In front of him were worse than anything he had seen in his time as a bandit. The bodies all had horrified and pained expressions frozen on their faces and many of the bodies showed signs of mutilation.

"What the hell is this?" Bishop asked.

"A purge." Fawkes said in disgust. "There was a village not far from here once but Cassius had it wiped off of the map."

"Why would he do something like that?" Asked Bishop.

"The village supported relationships between humans and Pokémon." Fawkes answered. "Cassius sees such relationships as abominations to nature so he had the Butcher Knight and his gang of mad men 'cleanse' the village." He said. "Know that you have seen this can you so easily turn your back on the ones who need your help?" Fawkes asked as he turned and began to walk back towards the rebel stronghold.

**End of Chapter 2.**

**Sorry for how long this took but I hope you liked it. Please leave a review to tell me what think.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello and welcome to another chapter of 'Of Heroes and Thieves'. Please leave a review to let me know what you think.**

**I do not own the Pokémon franchise. **

**Chapter 3: Can a snake shed its skin?**

Bishop sat underneath a tree on the outskirts of the rebel camp. Try as he might he could not scrub the images of the mass grave from his head. When he closed his eyes he could see the horrified faces of the men, women and children of that simple village.

Bishop had never felt so indecisive in his life. His time as a bandit had taught him not to pick fights that he couldn't win and a fight with the armies of Winterport was almost certainly a death sentence. But a part of him was so revolted by the atrocity that Fawkes had shown him, it made him want to take up arms for something other than his own benefit.

So deep in thought was Bishop that it was not until Jean sat down next to him that he realized that he was not alone.

"Do you see now why we fight?" She asked as she looked to the setting sun. "Or are you so calloused and self centered that the idea of living for something more than oneself merely confuses you."

Despite his anger at the Gardevoir's questions Bishop could not bring himself to respond with his usual defiant personality. "Have you truly come here only to insult me?"

"I didn't mean it as an insult." Jean said calmly. "The fact that you have even considered fighting with us has surprised me."

Both were quite for a time. "Do you really think that Cassius can be defeated?" Bishop asked.

"Our chances aren't exactly great." Jean answered honestly. "But even the smallest chance is worth taking if it could lead to a better future."

The sun set and Bishop followed Jean as she escorted him to the men's barracks. Fawkes had arranged for him to stay the night but he made it clear that he needed an answer by the morning.

Sleep did not come easily to Bishop that night not that it ever did. On top of his usual insomnia he had to deal with his conflicting emotions on what he should do.

Bishop may have been a bandit bur he wasn't a monster and cold blooded slaughter was as disgusting to him as it was to the any other man but a life of crime was not so easy to abandon. It had been so long since he had cared for anyone other than himself that he had a hard time picturing himself doing anything remotely selfless led alone risking his life for someone else's freedom.

After nearly two and a half hours of troubling thoughts Bishop finally managed to find sleep. He knew what his answer would be in the morning.

**6 am the next day.**

Bishop woke up to the sounds of the various rebel soldiers going about their morning routines. Some were sharpening their weapons, others making their beds, a few were even playing some sort of card game that Bishop didn't know of. These things were of little importance to Bishop though, he now knew what he had to do.

Bishop made his way to the strategy room hoping to find Fawkes or Crius there so he could tell them his decision.

On his way to find them he ran into the tall man who wore the bear skins. The man was sharpening his axe blade and only looked up briefly to see who had come to see him. "You're still 'ere then are ya?" The man asked in his gruff accent.

"Yeah I am." Bishop said idly. "Your name is Gunvar right?" He asked.

"Aye and yer name was Bishop weren't it?" Gunvar asked with his improper grammar.

Bishop simply nodded in response to the large man's question.

"So are ya planning on joining the cause?" Gunvar asked as he contined to run the whet stone across his axe.

"I am." Bishop answered.

"Good we can use all the soldiers we can get." Said Gunvar. "Ya don't look like much of a warrior but Crius says ya got skill so ya must be alright."

Bishop wasn't sure whether he should be insulted or complimented by the man's words so he decided to just not think about it.

"Well ya better go tell Fawkes that yer staying, he should be in his strategy room." Gunvar said as he began to test his axe on a nearby tree to see if it was sharp enough for battle.

"I guess I'll get on that then." Bishop said as he began to walk away from the large man. 'I'll have to ask someone how they came across such a behemoth.' He thought as he continued to make his way to the strategy room.

After a few short minutes of walking Bishop was outside the strategy room. He opened the door and walked in to see Fawkes and Crius sitting at the table. They seemed to be discussing strategy as they had a map of the area stretched across the table and were using models to show troop locations.

Fawkes looked up from the map when he heard Bishop enter. "Hello Bishop." He said. "Have you come to tell us your decision?"

"I have actually." Bishop said.

Crius motioned for Bishop to take a seat. "So can we count you among are ranks or are you just here to say goodbye." He asked as Bishop sat down.

"Well I thought about and I figured why the hell not?" Bishop said as he shrugged his shoulders to emphasise the question. "It's not like I've got anything better to do."

Crius let out a quiet chuckle at Bishop's non-committal attitude. "Well it's hard to find dedication like that." He said jokingly suspecting that Bishop's attitude was more for the sake of his bravado than anything else.

"Well welcome to the resistance then Bishop." Fawkes said as shook his hand. "You can report to the blacksmith to get a set of armour and a weapon of your choice and then head directly to the assignment building to find out who you'll be stationed with."

"Oh that won't be necessary Fawkes." Crius said. "I've got a spot in my unit that needs to be filled and I think Bishop would suit it just fine."

"Are you sure that's wise Crius?" Fawkes asked. "Your unit isn't exactly the place for new recruits."

"Maybe not but I think Bishop could be of value to our little experiment." Crius said.

"Very well then." Fawkes said. "From here on out Bishop you are a member of the Umbra unit."

**End of chapter 3**

**Thanks for reading everyone I hope you enjoyed it and don't forget to leave a review.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello all and welcome to chapter 4 of 'Of Heroes and Thieves'. Enjoy and don't forget to leave a review.**

**I don't own the Pokémon franchise.**

**Chapter 4: Not the Winterport average.**

"Umbra?" Bishop asked.

"It's from an old language." Fawkes said. "It means shadow and with any luck the unit will have more in common than just the name."

"As you've probably noticed we aren't exactly the biggest or best equipped army around." Crius said. "We figured if we wanted to even have a chance at victory we'd have to try are hands at a few unconventional tactics. The Umbra unit is our attempt to create task force that can do the work of a much larger force but be small enough to stay quiet and travel quickly."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that?" Bishop asked.

"We've based most of our strategies off tribal warrior groups." Fawkes answered. "Cause a distraction then launch a surprise attack to bring their numbers down to more manageable level."

"After that it's just a matter of taking out the stragglers and leaving before a larger force can launch a counter attack." Crius said.

"That's a pretty interesting strategy but what do you need me?" Asked Bishop.

"Many of the strategies you would have employed as a bandit are similar to the ones we'll be using." Crius said. "In a way you've been training for this role ever since you became a Bandit."

Bishop let out a small laugh. "Who would have thought being a prick could prepare me for something other than being a prick?" He asked jokingly. "Anyways I'd better go get a weapon and a set of armour as you had suggested earlier."

"Very good." Crius said. "Once you've done that report to the small building in the Northeast section of the camp. It's become the Umbra unit's base as of late and you should get to know your new allies, you'll be relying on them and they'll be relying you so it pays to have a friendly relationship."

"Will do." Bishop said as he stood up and made his way to the exit.

**Later that day.**

Bishop regarded the longsword he had obtained from the camps quartermaster. It was a simple but effective design and the steel was surprisingly high-quality for a rebel group. The swords point of balance was close enough to the guard to be fairly dexterous but far enough away to cause deep cuts. All in all he was very pleased with the weapon. His armour was a rather simple affair light chainmail with leather padding underneath, a simple pair of gauntlets, some boots, and a helmet rounded out his armour quite nicely. He was surprised to find how little the armour restricted his movement. He felt slightly heavier that much was true but not in a sluggish way.

Bishop continued to examine his armour as he made his way to the Umbra unit's base. He arrived at the small building shortly.

Outside of the building the Lucario was sparring with Samara the archer he had talked to on his way to the camp the previous day. The Lucario seemed to be winning by a little bit.

The pair stopped as they saw Bishop approach. "So you're the new member of our little band of heroes." The Lucario said with a wide smile. "I should 'a figured with how Crius tried so hard to get you to sign up." He added. "The names James by the way." He said as he offered a hand for Bishop to shake.

"Nice to meet you." Bishop said as shook hands with the Lucario.

"Bishop's your name isn't it?" Samara asked.

"Yeah." Bishop said as he nodded his head affirmatively. "So what should I know about Umbra?" Bishop asked.

"Oh nothing much just that we're the toughest group of warriors this side of the great sea. Thanks in no small part to yours truly." James said.

"Pride cometh before the fall James." Samara scolded the Lucario.

"Yeah-yeah." James said dismissively.

"Anyways to get back to your question Bishop, the Umbra unit is an experimental project as you've likely been told." Samara said. "Crius is our unit leader and he reports directly to Fawkes so we're counted among the higher ranks in the army."

"But what do you actually do?" Bishop questioned.

"We mostly just ambush enemy supply caravans." Samara said sounded slightly displeased by this. "Like I said we're an experimental unit and we haven't found our niche quiet yet."

"Ah don't be so negative we'll be stars in no time." James said happily.

"Maybe." Samara said. "Anyways you should go inside and tell Jean that you're part of Umbra. She's the unofficial second in command here."

"Alight I guess I'll talk more with you later." Bishop said with a curt nod of his head.

Bishop entered the building to find that it was quite bigger than the exterior suggested. There was a small table surrounded by chairs. The table was stacked with files and maps. The rest of the room was filled with beds and chests for storage.

Bishop scanned the room in search of the blue Gardevoir and soon found her sorting through a chest at the foot of one of the beds. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

Jean turned to see who it was. "So you're our new member hey?" She asked rhetorically. "Well if you can pull your own wait we won't have any problems."

"How kind of you." Bishop said with obvious sarcasm.

"Don't take it to personally I'm just not big on new people." Jean said as she went back to sorting through the chest.

"You must be great at parties." Bishop said with a small laugh.

"Oh that's very original did you come up with that one all by yourself?" She asked mockingly.

Bishop let out a small grunt of annoyance at the Gardevoir's comeback. "Are you always this pleasant to converse with or is this just you trying to make a good impression." Bishop asked his voice betraying his growing agitation.

"You're not exactly the first person I'd choose to have a conversation with either." Jean said as she finally found the book she had been looking for in the chest. "But I can overlook your attitude problem if you prove to be even half as useful as Crius thinks you'll be." She said as she sat on her bed and began to read.

"My attitude problem?" Bishop asked angrily. "You're the one who started judging me from day one."

"You were a self-admitted bandit." Jean said. "And you didn't exactly put much of an effort into your first-impression."

"Oh so I was supposed to just say yes to joining some crazy rebel group without knowing a thing about them was I?" Bishop asked now so angry that he was nearly yelling.

"No but you could have been more polite about it all." Jean said nearly as angrily as Bishop.

"Well I came to your little camp and I even joined." Bishop said. "Or is that worth nothing just because I was apprehensive about risking my god damn life?"

"I will give you credit for making the right choice." Jean said after taking a deep breath to calm herself. "But it doesn't excuse a life of crime and it doesn't make me like you." She said calmly. "But if you can help us win this war and stay out of my way we won't have any more issues."

Bishop made a sigh of exasperation and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine by me." Is all he said as he walked away.

**End of chapter 4.**

**Thanks for reading this chapter I hope you enjoyed it.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi everyone and welcome to chapter five of 'Of Heroes and Thieves'. Please leave a review to let me know what you think.**

**Chapter 5: Can you do me a favour?**

Bishop had spent the last two and half weeks training and living with the members of the Umbra unit. He quickly learned that Jean had spoken the truth when she said that Crius had held back during their first fight.

The Blaziken was a master of the sword and shield fighting style that had been popularized by a group of sea fairing raiders almost a hundred years prior. The style was ruthless and effective and proved to be rather difficult to counter with a longsword.

Bishop had however been able to not only hold his own but actually beat his other ally's on some occasions.

His skills in combat only grew as time progressed and he began sparring more and more against fighters of various styles and skill levels. But training wouldn't win the war and everyone knew that it was just a matter of time till the Umbra unit was called to do their part.

Bishop was currently walking towards Fawkes' strategy room. He had been called away from his training with some of the soldiers. All the messenger could tell him was that Fawkes needed to see the Umbra unit in his strategy room.

Bishop had reached the strategy room in almost no time at all. As he entered the building he found that the rest of Umbra unit including Crius were all standing around the table with Fawkes.

"Took yer sweet time gettin' ere." Gunvar said as he looked at Bishop.

"I came as soon as the messenger told me I was needed." Bishop said to the axe wielding giant.

"You're here now that's what matters." Fawkes said with a tone of finality. "Now that everyone's present we can move on to why you are here."

"And why is that chief?" James asked.

"We've received intel that suggest that one of Cassius's top generals will moving along this road." Fawkes said as pointed out a nearby road on the map. "The general in question, one Galerius Tatian is not only a highly decorated warrior but was one of the men who orchestrated the siege that killed Emperor Amulius all those years ago." Fawkes said.

"Emperor who?" Bishop asked.

"Emperor Amulius was the monarch of Winterport over twenty five years ago." Crius said. "Fawkes and I had served him, me as his personal bodyguard and Fawkes as his top general."

"We were some of the only men that Cassius didn't ask to join his coupe." Fawkes said.

"Why didn't he ask you to join him?" Bishop asked with a confused look on his face.

"Because he knew that they would never join him." Jean said. "It was only because of Amulius's forward thinking politics that Crius and my father were even allowed to serve in the army led alone rise to such high ranks."

"The Emperors equalitarian politics enraged many of the more prominent noble families and some of the army's top generals." Fawkes said. "Cassius used their anger to manipulate them and place himself in the throne."

"If the history lesson is over maybe we could get back to the matter at hand?" James suggested slightly mockingly.

Samara smacked James in the back of the head. "You should show more respect James, those who don't know their history are bound to repeat its mistakes."

"It's not my history." James said quietly as he rubbed his head.

"Enough!" Fawkes said decisively. "James has a point despite his less than couth way of making it. The reason I brought you here is what is important. I want you to assassinate General Galerius while he is on the road."

"That won't be easy, he'll be guarded by some of the best soldiers Winterport has to offer." Crius said.

"That's why I'm sending you." Fawkes said as he looked at the Blaziken. "The Umbra unit is the perfect fit for this kind of job, you're small enough to sneak up on the enemy but also skilled enough to get the job done." He said. "I won't lie to you this mission is borderline suicidal but if we can kill Galerius we'll gain an advantage to could prove paramount to the success of the war."

"I will follow my orders until the end." Jean said with ferocious devotion.

"I ain't about to quit on ya now Fawkes I'm in." Gunvar said.

"So am I" Said Samara.

"You'll need me for this one." James said flashing his signature cocky smile.

"Well I guess I've got nothing better to do." Bishop said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Crius smiled proudly upon hearing the bravery of his squad. "That's that then." He said. "Get your gear ready and meet me at the north gate we leave within the hour."

"Yes sir!" The Umbra unit responded in unison before departing to prepare themselves for what was sure to be their most important mission yet.

**End of chapter 5.**

**Thanks for reading and sorry about how short this one is but it wouldn't make sense to make sense to drag this one out. Please leave a review to let me know what you think and don't be afraid to like and follow this story if you haven't already.**

**P.S. I'm considering starting up a new story something in the Halo universe so let me know if you think that would be cool.**


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